Achieving a Natural, Raw Wood Finish

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This is the final post of my series on refinishing our new bed. To start from the beginning, follow the list below.

Part 1 – Getting Started

Part 2 – Stripping Furniture In-Depth

Part 3 – My Perfected Stripping Process

Part 4 – Tackling Color | Different Types of Wood Bleach

Part 5 – Sealing

AND, I’ve got you covered in video format too. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I show you this project from start to finish.

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Getting Here

If you’ve ever spent a TON of time stripping a piece of wood furniture, sanding it down beautifully, admiring your work, and then sealing it for good measure, only for it to end up looking very similar to the way you started, then I’ve been in your shoes. It is frustrating!

I’ve also been frustrated by trying to find good tutorials on a natural raw wood finish, only to find that whitewashing or liming was used. I like that look, but I didn’t want the white on this piece. I wanted it to just be wood. I thought I had found another good tutorial only to find that they hadn’t sealed the wood, which is fine if you don’t feel it needs it, but I was worried about oils and cleaning.

Past Projects

My first real (semi-successful) experience with stripping wood came when I created an island from stock cabinets at the Plain Jane. You can find that project here.

My result was better – it wasn’t as orange-oakey as when I started. But I really hoped for lighter.

Then I stripped this table that I found at a thrift store, and I really loved it! I went to put sealer on it and it got WAY too dark…. it’s still unsealed.

But I think the 3rd time was a charm!

Finishing our Bed

So now that I’ve stripped, sanded, and applied bleach, my bed is ready to be stained and sealed. Now I don’t need stain as I like the natural color, but I did stress over sealing it for all the reasons I discussed above.

The Winner Is…

I first tried a bit of clear wax, but as I feared, it darkened much more than I had hoped. I didn’t want to use polyurethane as I worried about it ambering. So I went with Minwax Polycrylic, which I’ve used plenty of times and have been pleased with its results. This time though, I tried it in the matte sheen.

Bingo! So easy! The effect was very subtle and richened the wood color a tiny bit without darkening. I think the results speak for themselves.

I’m totally in love with this!

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And now I feel like I can confidently help you get your own natural, raw-wood Finish. I’ve outlined the steps below, but please refer to the linked posts above for more details on each step.

How-To

1. Whether you use a stripper and sand, or just sand, take off all of the finish on your piece. See my post above on stripping.
2. If your color is still too dark, or perhaps you have red oak with a pink hue, try lightening it with an A/B Bleach (I used Zinsser). See my post above on the different types of bleach, their uses, and how to apply.
3. If your grain is still too dark even after stripping and sanding, use household chlorine bleach to lighten. See my post on bleach.
4. Seal it up with a coat or 2 of Minwax Polycrylic in Matte or Ultra Flat.

That’s it! No white washing, no staining and wiping right back off. No white paint in the grain or liming waxes. (Although if you are looking for that type of finish, I’m planning to work on it next!) The secret sauce are those two bleaches to really get rid of the stain and lighten the wood.

Time to Celebrate!

And with that, I’ve finished our new bed. We are both enjoying it, and I hope I’ve been able to help you with your own project, or perhaps inspired a new one. I’m also celebrating my first project on my new YouTube channel, which I also hope you find helpful! Please visit and subscribe to help support my little blog.